Light Magic
by Charmkeeper
Summary: AU. As an apprentice guardian Sora is expected to fight any servant of the Dark. That includes any person who practices magic, for all magic comes from the Dark, but when his friend Riku, a mage, sets off to defeat a servant of the Dark far greater than himself, Sora can't just let him do it by himself. Can servants of the Light and the Dark actually work together?
1. In My Childhood

Author's Notes: When I finished my last multi-chapter story, a friend of mine told me to take him on another ride. I eventually agreed to write another story for his amusement. This is that story. I'm going back to my sort of AU roots, though not to my fandom roots, and putting this out there. It's a Kingdom Hearts character story, with Kingdom Hearts influences, but the setting and character roles are based much more of off _The Last Apprentice_.

For those of you that are curious, Riku's role is semi based off of Alice in those books, and Sora's role ( to a lesser degree ) based off of Tom.

I also warn you now, the pairing of this story will eventually be Sora/Riku. Nothing too heavy, but it is my "favorite pairing" from the game series. I didn't write the story based around the pairing itself though, the pairing is a part of the story, the story is not the pairing...I think.

Lastly, this first chapter is written in first person point of view. It is the only chapter that is written like that. It's not my strongest area.

Enjoy!

* * *

The years of my childhood have always held the best memories for me. It was such a simple and carefree life, with my parents and my two best friends; Kairi and Riku.

Kairi was always special, she was the only girl in the village that wanted to play with the boys. Where other girls wanted to sit and play dolls, or talk about their future husbands, Kairi liked to run and jump, and she was good at it too, she could always keep up with me, and when she really tried, she could even give Riku a run for his money. One of the things I liked best about her was her smile. She was always smiling, even after her parents died of illness when we were all still very young. I've heard that in towns outside of Destiny, a parentless child would be pushed onto the street, but not here, not Kairi, everyone loved her, and we all relished in taking turns having her in our house. She was never a burden, always a joy.

Riku, on the other hand, was a little different, or maybe a lot different. Kairi was a bit of a tomboy, but she had her soft edge too, not Riku. If it could be climbed, Riku would climb it, just to show that he could. Most of the families in Destiny have been there for generations, but Riku and his mother moved into town when Kairi and I were three, and Riku was four. I remember many a time when Riku's mother would bring of sweets to eat with the biggest smile on her face. I didn't know exactly what a midwife was back then, but that was what Riku's mother did with her time, and I know there are women in Destiny that owe their lives to her. They were outsiders, and I've always known that they were closest with each other, but I never felt like they didn't belong with us. Different wasn't bad, not then.

In my childhood, my life was filled with simple joys, but those joys, and my childhood, ended when I was ten years old. I remember it being right after Kairi's birthday when Squall came to Destiny. Squall's the region's guardian, a person who keeps the creatures of the Dark at bay. They dedicate their lives to fighting the Dark, giving themselves over to the Light, but being a guardian is not something one can do forever. Everyone grows older, and at some point a guardian is expected to find an apprentice. That was what Squall had come to town for, an apprentice.

When he first arrived, I'd fully expected him to pick Riku. My best friend had always had a sort of wanderlust, and being a guardian meant a lot of travel. Not only that, but Riku had always been everything I was not; strong, fast, hard working, and ambitious. I remember the thought of losing my friend had saddened me, but I had also been excited for him, because it would have been everything he could have wanted...

...But Squall chose me, saying I had the Light and the potential "senses" for the job. That surprised me, but what he did after that still shocks me to this day. In all my years, my town had never been attacked by the Dark, to my knowledge we were all fully exposed to the Light, but Squall said otherwise that day. He pointed his finger at Riku and his mother, and he told us that his mother was a witch, a servant of the Dark, and that Riku was a child of the Dark, destined to one day bring great chaos, if he was not stopped here.

I remember desperately pulling at Squall, trying to talk sense into him. This was Riku! This was my friend! He'd never hurt anyone! His mother had saved lives! How could she possibly be evil and dark?! But my pleas fell on deaf ears. Riku somehow got away, but his mother was...not so lucky.

I had left Destiny with tears running down my face, my heart heavy with loss, and the truth is, I've never really forgiven Squall for what he did to Riku and his mother. I think he knows that, but even so he'd been a good master to me, and I can't bring myself to hate him, even for Riku.

It takes seven years to complete a guardian apprenticeship, I was ten then, I'm fifteen now. Just two more years.


	2. A Dragon

Author's Notes: Second chapter! First chapter in third person.

I'm trying to write this story in a cliffhanger sort of way. Not every chapter will be like that, but I know that these first few will be cliffhanger type endings. Fair warning. If you don't like that sort of thing, this story is NOT for you.

Otherwise, enjoy!

* * *

"Are you ready to go, Sora?"

Being Squall's apprentice had always meant going places with him. It wasn't something Sora terribly minded, seeing other places in the world, he didn't even really mind the job that he had started to learn the day that Squall had chosen him. Being a servant of Light was what all children were told they wanted to be, and being a guardian was the highest honor among those that served the Light. The only problem was that being a guardian meant directly fighting the Dark, even taking the fight to them...those that confronted the Dark often did not live long lives...

"Sora?!"

"I'm coming!" While Squall called up from the bottom of the stairs, Sora was in his room, checking his bag for what had to be the third or fourth time. His master often liked to tell him what a forgetful person he was, and it was the purest truth Sora had probably ever been given. He was always forgetting something, whether that something was an actual item, or a vital piece of information that would make or break a battle.

The boy shoved the things in his bag around a bit, he had elixirs, he had food, water, and all the little things that Squall was always telling him to remember...

"Sora!""Coming!" Squall was getting impatient, and so Sora grabbed the one thing he needed that would certainly not fit in his bag before running down the stairs to see Squall's scarred face grimacing up at him. Sora only grinned. "I think I remembered everything this time! Even my blade!" The blade he held aloft was a very special sword, so special, that at first his master had not believed that it had appeared in his hands, let alone at such a young age. Sora had known nothing about it, and truth be told, still knew little, but he remembered his master saying that it was called a keyblade, and that they were mystical swords, seven in total, each one unique to its user. It wasn't much, but Sora was proud to have it, and he liked to think Squall was proud that he had it too, even if it never showed on his grumpy face."Good. Strap it on, and let's get going." With that, the older man turned on his heel and walked right out the front door. Quickly, Sora did as he was told, slung his bag over his shoulder and followed him at a quick gait. In general, Sora liked the traveling. It seemed like Squall had never been meant to be stationary, and traveling always made his master a little less huffy, but Sora, if only minimally, always worried about the house. Squall never locked it, and there were servants of the Dark everywhere. Each time they left, Sora wondered if they would come back to a house at all, but such thought always left him soon after they were thought.

Sora always made an effort to be quiet when they were traveling, Squall was never much for conversation, unless he was rattling off some lesson or another, but Sora had never been a quiet person, and the last five years as a guardian apprentice had done nothing to change that. No matter how hard he tried, it was only about a half an hour away from the house before his mouth was open and questions began to spill out. "Where are we going?"

There was a little huff of impatience at the question, but Sora knew that such a question would not be denied. After all, Squall wasn't much of a talker, but he was smart. He knew that Sora needed to know, if he was going to be of any help at all. Squall also knew that Sora wouldn't be quiet until each and every one of his questions was answered. "The natives have a different name for it, but other sections call it the Enchanted Dominion."

Sora frowned in thought. He was supposed to know about all the sections in their region from reading books, but Sora always found reading dry and boring, so he often skimmed the sections he was supposed to read carefully. "That's...the one that the first witch was born in, right?"

"Right," his master responded with a nod. "They normally don't call for help, because there are so many witches, and even more mages than usual, but there's been threats from Maleficent, and while she's always been powerful, it seems like she's gotten more powerful in the last couple of years, and they can't keep her in check anymore. So I've had a letter telling me to take care of it."

"Yeah?" That sounded serious. Even from his skimming he knew that Maleficent was a powerful witch, and an even more powerful servant of the Dark. She was offended easily, and some years beforehand had threatened a princess' life. That whole ordeal had come out to be nothing, if Sora remembered correctly, but it still showed how powerful she really was.

"Yes. Now, Sora, what kind of a witch is Maleficent?"

"Uhhh," Sora bit his lip. Quiz time. He was bad at quizzes, he never seemed to know the answer. "Is...she...a familiar witch?" He thought he remembered reading something about a raven in the book, however many months or years ago it had been.

His answer earned him a glance from Squall, and Sora held his breath. He wasn't sure if that was good or bad. "That's right. She has a raven that she shares her power with. You've been reading more carefully than I thought."

Slowly, Sora released the breath he'd been holding. Praise, even small praise like that, was a rare thing from Squall, so his answer must have put him in a good mood. Now he just had to keep his master that way for the rest of the trip.

It proved to be an impossible task. The trip to the Enchanted Dominion took three days, including several detours to deal with shadow Heartless, a task so "simple" that it was left to Sora and his new keyblade. Each little delay put both of them in a more sour mood, but when they reached the top of the hill that separated Hollow Bastion from the Enchanted Dominion, Sora's heart lightened.

It was such an odd sight from there. It was like he was looking at a perfect representation of how Squall always tried to describe the wold's people to him. Half of it was bathed in perfect light, but the other half, a half that was forested, was completely shadowed, and it seemed like the center, where the light and the dark met, was constantly shifting just a little one way or the other. That was how the world was, according to his master, two sides, Dark and Light, constantly fighting for dominance.

Sora looked at his master, eyes wide, "I assume we're reading toward the dark and scary forest, right?"

Squall nodded, "If you look closely, you'll see the tops of the towers that are her castle. That's where we're headed."

And so it was that they made their way down the hill and into the dank forest, but they couldn't have been in there for more than fifteen minutes before Sora's senses started acting up. He could sense a powerful force of darkness nearby. Though he'd been developing his guardian senses for the five years he'd been with Squall, he still wasn't focused enough to tell exactly where the source of his unease was coming from, but it was strong, and it was somewhere nearby.

"Can you feel that?" He asked his master.

"What?"

"The Darkness. Someone's nearby."

Squall shook his head. "You're probably just feeling Maleficent herself. This is her forest after all." Sora nodded. He wasn't going to fight with the more experienced guardian over it, but he really wasn't sure that Squall was right. The feeling lingered for a little while, but then it disappeared. That usually meant that whatever had been nearby had left, but if it was just Maleficent he was feeling...wouldn't the feeling still be present?

About halfway through the forest a fog rolled in, and Squall made a tsking sound. "Miasma."

"Uh, bless you?"

A sigh was released. "No, Sora. Miasma." The elder guardian looked over his shoulder, but Sora just shrugged. Was he supposed to know what that was? Apparently so, because Squall sighed again. "We just went over this...a miasma is a poisonous gas that witches create to delude or kill intruders. Keeps people away from their territory."

"Uhh, maybe we shouldn't be here then?"

"It's fine. It just means we can't take our time." Sora knew what his master was saying. Guardians, once they started to develop their senses, usually had some sort of a resistance to certain kinds of magic, but while that was fine for Squall, Sora wasn't sure how long he would last. What if he succumbed to the poisonous fog at a critical point in the battle? Sora knew he wasn't the hardest working person, but he last thing he wanted was to be a liability.

Regardless of Sora's worries, they continued through both the forest and the miasma, and to his relief they saw the gates of Maleficent's castle within the hour, and Sora wasn't feeling weird at all.

Through the fog, Sora could see that the castle gate was open. Even Sora knew that was just an invitation to death, not to mention the darkness that he now felt once again, but Squall walked right through the opening, a look of worry on his face. "That's odd..."

"The gate?"

"No. There's no one here." The frown deepened. "According to the letter I received, Maleficent has a small army of goblins at her disposal, but I don't see any of them now." Sora didn't get why that was such a bad thing. Goblins were annoying little creatures of the Dark, but he'd never read about, or encountered, a particularly strong one. The fact that they weren't here meant that they could get straight to the witch without having to drain themselves on goblins. The open gate was still the thing that concerned him.

Sora had been just about to ask where they should look for the castle's keeper when he heard a great cawing sound from above. A quick glance above allowed him to just glimpse a raven as it flew up to one of the castle walls, where a great, dark figure stood. There was no question; that was Maleficent, and that raven was her familiar, they were the source of the darkness he felt, but there a nagging little thought at the back of his mind that told him they were not the power and Dark he'd felt earlier.

Maleficent only allowed him to his own thoughts for a moment, and then she opened her mouth and cackled. It filled every nook and cranny of his mind. "Fools!" Her strong voice boomed. "I have been waiting for you!"

"Have you?" Squall said, his battle personality coming through. As always, Sora knew his master was cool and calm, but there was somehow a certain confidence boost whenever battle loomed overhead.

"Yes! I've known about your presence the moment you dared set foot in my forest! But there is no more need for words! I will kill you now!"

Sora watched in horror as the woman raised her arms high above her head and her shape began to change. Some witches could do that, he knew, especially ones that were powerful enough to keep a familiar, but normally they changed into things like bears, lions, wolves, but what Maleficent changed into was something much more terrifying.

The witch changed into a dragon.


	3. The Heart

Author's Notes: It's appropriate to post this chapter this weekend, right?

Anyway, now you get to see my weakness! Battle scenes. I did pretty well with this one, but there are about five other battle scenes in this story, and I'm just like, "What did I get myself into?"

Warning! This short chapter also ends in a cliffhanger! Enjoy.

* * *

Normally, battles went by very quickly for Sora. There was a moment of quiet between him, an ally, and an enemy, and then, whether the battle actually took a moment or an hour, it was over, and the amount of time that had passed seemed inconsequential. That was the normal thing, but Sora had never faced anything that was five times bigger than he was, let alone something that was at least a hundred times bigger than he was, like the dragon before them. He looked over at Squall, and the look on his master's face told him that Squall had never faced anything quiet like this either, and that he had not been expecting it.

Next, the creature breathed fire.

Fire was something that they had both faced before, but never quite on a scale like this. It was all they could do to get behind a wall or a half broken statue and wait for the heat to pass before daring to poke their heads out. Still in awe, Sora looked at the dragon that had once been Maleficent. How were they supposed to defeat something like that?

_"The heart."_ It wasn't his own thought that rung through his mind, but instead the thought was in someone else's voice completely, a voice that was comfortingly familiar, yet Sora was sure that he'd never heard it before, especially not in his own head. Such voices were not to be trusted...

The great bang of Squall's unique weapon brought Sora's thoughts back to reality. Right. The battle, how were they ever going to win if Sora just stood there? As he drew out his keyblade, his master shot off two more of his projectiles, the first and second shots struck harmlessly against the scales of the dragon's neck, but the third somehow managed to sink itself deep into the creature's eye, and it shrieked in pain, flailing, its limbs crushing walls as it climbed down to the level that they were on.

A moment later, more fire was spewed, and Sora retreated behind his statue again, crouched down as low as he could get. Catching it in the eye had obviously caused pain, but being in pain was not the same as dying, and they had to destroy this witch. If she could turn into a dragon, it was far too dangerous to let her roam free. How could they win?

_"The heart!"_ The familiar, but unfamiliar voice in his head said again, more insistent this time. _"Her underside is vulnerable!_ _Pierce her through the heart!" _The voice made a lot of sense, hearts were a vulnerable spot on almost any creature, but...a voice in his head? Especially one that he was sure he didn't know? It could easily be a spell from the Dark. In fact, there was no other explanation...

_"Idiot! Do you want to die?! Your time is running out!"_ At first, Sora thought the voice meant that the dragon would kill them soon, but after a moment he noticed that he was starting to feel woozy. The miasma was finally starting to take hold, and the voice was right, that did limit his time even more. Maybe it was time to listen to the voice in his head, even if it wasn't his own.

The voice seemed to know what Sora was thinking ( and why not? The voice _was_ in his head ) and, in a less irritated and more panicked tone, continued to tell Sora what he needed to do. _"It's simple, when she's not blowing flame, aim for her heart, and then throw your blade. It will do the rest."  
_

Was it really that simple? It seemed too simple. It was true that the heart was usually the most vulnerable spot, but most creatures had defenses against such things...

_"Hurry!"_

The voice was right. For the moment Maleficent the Dragon had stopped spouting fire, so now was the only chance he'd really have to take a shot, once she started breathing the flames again, it might be too late, the miasma might take full hold. So, with a deep breath, Sora stepped out from behind the statue, keyblade in hand, tried to aim for the dragon's heart, but his hand was shaking. It wasn't fear, the truth was that didn't get very afraid of most things, even when they were life threatening. It was the effect of the miasma. He had taken too long.

Inside his head, the voice tsked at him, and then said, _"Here. I'll help." _Sora wasn't sure what he'd been expecting exactly, but what he got a moment later was something that felt like there really was a hand resting against his own, steadying his aim, and once he was steady, he didn't need the voice to tell him to throw.

It seemed like the instant his blade left his grip the witch-dragon screamed. It didn't roar like a dragon, it screamed, revealing that, in the end, Maleficent had not really become a dragon, but had only changed her shape, like another person changed their clothes.

It hurt his ears to hear the sound, and putting his hands over his ears did nothing to dull it, as though the scream were as much in his head as the voice he'd been hearing was. It was so high pitched and awful, that Sora found himself teetering, and then found himself on his side, before he finally blacked out, without even knowing what had happened to his master...

...Sora sat up in bed to the sound of a great crash right by his ear. It startled him, but, without taking anything around him in, he slunk back under the covers. It wasn't the first time he'd been awakened by a sound that had really only been in his dreams. It was probably still early yet. He could probably get away with another half hour or maybe even an hour before Squall came and pounded on his door...

And that was when he remembered that he wasn't at Squall's house. He sat up sharply again, trying to figure out where he was, but he didn't know. He remembered the fight with the dragon that had really been the witch, Maleficent. He remembered the voice in his head, and how it had helped him...but other than that, his mind was blank. He must have passed out.

He looked to his right, and then his left, and his eyes fell on an open stained glass window. It wasn't the window itself that was interesting though, it what was sitting in the window. It was a boy, about his age. He wore black with yellow accents, his hair was a silver color, and the face...it was familiar, a face Sora certainly knew, but had not seen in years.

In the window, sat Riku.


	4. A Deal

Author's Notes: Oh. Would you look at that. It's a chapter.

Something I wanted to explain, but never really get around to explaining ( at least not thus far ) is what regions and sections are. It's really simple, actually. Regions are like continents/countries, they don't have names, but are identified by number, one through six. Sora lives in Region One, which is the smallest region, and the entire story takes place there. Sections are something between a country and a city. Each one is independent, but they aren't very big. They all have names. There's a lot of "unclaimed" land in each region, just waiting for new sections to pop up. I hope that isn't too confusing.

Enjoy!

* * *

Once Sora had realized exactly who he was staring at a grin broke out over his face, and he fought with the covers of the bed, finally managing to free his legs and feet before he all but threw himself at his old friend. "Riku!" He exclaimed happily, his eyes closing tightly as he embraced the other boy, his grip getting tighter and tighter until Riku finally chuckled and then returned the hug in a looser, one armed fashion.

"Hello, Sora." The tone of voice was fond, but it wasn't the tone that got Sora's attention, it was the voice itself. Familiar, but not familiar.

Sora gasped. "It was you! You were the voice in my head!"

A knowing smile curled its way around Riku's lips, and slowly, very slowly, Riku nodded. "Yes. You're as thickheaded as ever, if it took you that long to figure out." Instinctively, Sora pouted at the tease, but in reality, he was far too happy at being reunited with a long lost friend to really be annoyed, and the pout faded as quickly as it had come. "Are we in the castle?" Riku nodded. "How long have you been here?" Even Sora knew that Riku must have been in the area to come and bring him inside, that was, assuming it was Riku who had brought him out of the miasma and not Squall.

His friend shrugged. "About two years, give or take a month or so."

"Two years? How-"

Riku smiled, and he shook his head. "You truly are the same idiot I knew. Think, Sora. You sensed me in the forest. Heard me in your head. How would a guardian explain such phenomenon?"

He'd sensed Riku in the forest? But the only thing he'd sensed in the forest was...his heart sank. It wasn't just in the forest, but how that he was looking for it, Sora could feel that same power and darkness off of the person in front of him. "You've been using magic. You're..." he bit his lip, not wanting to say it, like saying it would actually make it real. "A mage," he whispered. All magic came from the Dark. Squall had been right all along. Riku was aligned with the Dark.

Another nod. "I am a mage," he confirmed. "I came here two years ago, to apprentice under Maleficent, just as you are Squall's apprentice."

Squall hadn't mentioned any apprentice being mentioned in his letter, but Sora knew better than to doubt what Riku was telling him. Even if Riku was a servant of the Dark, Sora knew his friend was not a liar. But, if that were true, there was one thing that really didn't make sense. "Why did you help me then? Doesn't this hurt you?"

On his perch, Riku leaned forward a little. "How far into the Dark do you think I am?"

Confused, Sora shrugged his shoulders. Did it matter? The Dark was the Dark, right? It didn't matter how far in it you were, did it?

"I am a mage, but not yet a malevolent mage. I see no point in threatening princesses or trying to take over sections. I just want the power, as much as I can get, and if I were careful, I can live my entire life that way, Sora. In answer to your question; I simply didn't care, and besides, I like you better." Riku smiled again, but it was a smile that troubled Sora. It wasn't a light and happy smile, it was a sly, scheming smile. "Even if that weren't the case, this isn't where you were meant to die."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Was Riku powerful enough to scry? That suggested a great deal of power, maybe even enough to challenge the witch that just fallen. "Have you seen my death?"

"No," the mage leaned back again and laid the side of his face against the stone that surrounded the window. "But Maleficent once read mine, and since I am not dead, neither can you be." A shudder ran down Sora's spine. That statement suggested one of two things, either that he and Riku would die at the same time, or...that Sora would kill Riku, his own best friend. Neither option was appealing, but the very thought that he might be fated to kill a boy he'd known for nearly as long as he could remember made him want to vomit. It was time to change the subject.

"Riku?"

"Hm?"

"Where is Master Squall?"

"I didn't kill him, if that's what you're thinking," Riku paused, an ugly scowl coming over his features. Sora couldn't blame him for that look. Servant of the Dark or not, if someone had killed his mother or father... "I didn't kill him, but I didn't help him either. Maleficent's miasma isn't lethal. By now he's probably wandered his way out of it, and the effects will probably wear off in a day or two, considering how much longer he was in it than you were."

Wandered out of it? That miasma had started halfway through the forest. "How long was I asleep?"

"Little over a day. You feel rested, don't you?"

Sora shifted himself a little, stretching his arms over his head. He hadn't really thought about it, his excitement over Riku had taken up everything in his mind, but, "Yeah. I do."

"Good. You were burned too. I guess the miasma prevented you from feeling it. I cured both, you should feel as...good as you ever do." Riku shrugged his shoulders, the darkness from the mention of Squall gone from his face. Maybe Riku was right, maybe he wasn't too far gone into the Dark, if he could shift moods so easily. Weren't the servants of the Dark always in a foul or maniacal mood? That was what it always seemed like when he went on missions with his master.

He grinned. Even if Riku had used magic, he'd done it to help him. "Thanks, Riku."

"You're welcome."

He'd been so happy to see his friend. For a long time there hadn't been a day when he hadn't thought of the silver haired boy who had fled Destiny for his very life, wondering what had happened to him, if he were still alive. Now he felt a little deflated, Squall had always said that Riku would become a powerful force for the Dark, but Sora had never believed him. Now he had to, it was staring him in the face. He didn't think Riku meant him any harm, after all, if he had, he could have just let Maleficent burn him to a crisp, or let the miasma take him away, like it had to Squall, but that there was something more here...and that worried him. It left an invisible gap between them, one that Sora wanted to jump over, but they were in different worlds now.

"Riku?"

"Yes, Sora?"

"My blade...do you know where it is?" He was aware that there was a strong possibility that it was still in the dragon's heart, but he needed it back, it wasn't just some sword or knife that he could replace. It was a special weapon of the Light. He needed it. Sora wasn't quite as dumb as both his master and Riku seemed to think he was, without the sword, he was really kind of hopeless.

"It's by the bed. It took me quite a while to bring up, but I knew you'd want it."

"Yeah?" Sora took a couple steps backward to look on the other side of the bed he'd woken up on, there it was, cleaned, shiny, perfect as always. "Why'd it take a while?" A glance back at Riku told Sora that he'd said something dumb, or obvious, in his friend's eyes. Those aqua eyes were wide with surprise.

"Don't you know what you have?"

"Well, I mean...yes?" He did. He knew it was a keyblade, and he knew there were only up to seven at any given time, because seven was the Light's number, just like anything with three had to do with the Dark.

"That sword is very special, Sora. Only a wielder can hold it by the hilt. It disappears otherwise, although I'm not sure if that means the wielder can simply summon it or if it then rejects the owner, and not only that, but it's made of pure Light. It burns those too closely affiliated with the Dark, if they touch it with their own hands." Riku lifted his hands for Sora to see. They weren't burned now, but Sora was sure that if Riku could heal his burns, surely Riku could heal an injury of his own. That made sense, right? "So it took a while. May I now ask you a question, Oh Loyal Guardian?"

The nickname made his nose wrinkle in distaste, but Sora nodded. "Go for it."

"Each keyblade is unique to its user, each one with its own name. What's the name of yours?"

Was that all? Sora grinned. "It's Oathkeeper." Just saying the name reminded him of Kairi, he'd been to visit her just before it had shown itself to him, he'd promised that he'd make more frequent visits...the keyblade's name always reminded him to keep every promise he made, and not to make promises he couldn't keep.

In his perch by the window, Riku tilted his head a bit. "Oathkeeper..." he smiled. "It suits you." With that, Riku let the subject drop, and they began to talk about other things.

For about a day, Sora wasn't really keeping count of the hours, he stayed in that room with Riku. They talked a lot, mostly about silly things, it felt like to Sora, and they smiled and laughed together. For moments, or hours, Sora would forget that Riku was a mage now, his natural enemy, but then something would be said, or there would be a pause in the conversation, and Riku's face would become somber, and Sora would realize that the boy he'd grown up with was gone, and the person who sat before him now only had that boy's memories. Maybe Riku wasn't a true servant of the Dark yet, but it was more than likely that he someday would be, and that just made Sora think of what Riku had said about his own death.

No matter what, Riku was his friend. The thought of possibly being the one to kill him tore at his soul.

The sun was already high in the sky the following day when Riku said it was time to go, and Sora took his sword and his bag and followed Riku out of the castle and through the forest. The miasma was still around, as was to be expected, but it made Sora nervous, he'd just gotten over that, right? It could probably infect him even faster now...but Riku seemed unconcerned, and Sora followed the mage closely through the forest, until the miasma was completely gone, and he withdrew a couple of steps.

"Once we get out of the forest," Riku began as they began the second half of their trek through the trees, "You can find your way back to Hallow Bastion, right?"

"Yeah," Sora said with a nod. Directions had never been his strongest subject, but he had a map in his bag that would get him back on the right track if he happened to get off course. "What about you? Where are you going? Back to where you were before Maleficent?" Riku had to have been somewhere for the three years between Destiny and the castle...

"In a way. I don't really have anywhere to go permanently, but-" Riku said before Sora could open his mouth to protest. "I have something I need to do."

"Yeah? Mind if I ask what?"

Riku shook his head, but that serious look climbed back on his face. "I have an enemy. He's very strong, and he normally lives directly in the Dark." Sora shuddered. He'd never encountered anything that actually lived in the Dark. Most servants of the Dark went there after death, just as servants of Light went to the Light after they died. A reward of sorts...or a punishment. Something that actually lived there...how and when had Riku made such a powerful enemy?

"Before you came to the castle, Maleficent and other powerful Dark entities were making plans to summon him. I'm going to stop it."

"I'm coming with you." The words left Sora's lips before he even thought about them. He didn't need to think about them. Riku was powerful, he could sense that, but surely not powerful to defeat someone like that.

"I'm not asking you to come with me."

"I didn't say you were, but Riku! You're my friend. I can't let you face something like that alone!"

"You're my friend too, Sora. I could easily say that I can't let you risk yourself like that."

"So why should you?! Come on, Riku. Squall can wait for me. He'll probably like the alone time! Let me go with you. Two heads are better than one, right?" Sora grinned, sticking his neck out in a way that just _dared_ Riku to argue with him, and his silver haired friend shook his head, but he was smiling.

"You really want to come help me with this, huh? Even though you don't even know anything about it?"

"Yeah!" Of course he did! What kind of friend would he be if he didn't? "Besides, this guy is super dark, right?"

This time, Riku nodded. "Yes, and striking him down now would be a good thing for the Light."

"So it's a good idea for a guardian to go anyway...?" Of course, that was really just an excuse, a justification. Riku was the most important thing in this case, a win for the Light was really just a nice bonus. "Will you let me help you? In exchange for saving me?"

The other boy paused for a second, but then he nodded his head. "Yes." Riku held out his hand, "Is it a deal?"

Sora nodded firmly, and took Riku's hand without any hesitation. "It's a deal!"


	5. Type of Mage

Riku would not tell him anything about the person they were going to stop from entering this world. It wasn't something that Sora liked. Even Squall would always tell him what they were facing, but whenever he asked Riku would only say that he couldn't say, because if he did, then that person might know what he was plotting. Sora supposed it was a good reason, servants of the Light didn't know all that much about entities that lived directly in the Dark. For all he knew it was entirely possible that Riku's enemy was that sort of omnipresent, but that didn't mean he liked not knowing.

"Can you at least tell me where we're going?"

At the new question Riku nodded, "I can tell you that. We're going to Halloween."

Maybe not knowing wasn't such a bad thing. "Halloween? But Halloween is two days away!" There were two Halloweens. One was the place, the other was the day. Halloween was one of the days (the other being its exact opposite, Walpurgisnacht) that the Dark was the strongest, and Halloween was the place where the most servants of the Dark lived, in their region anyway. It was also rumored that it was both the place and day where servants of the Dark were strongest. Very few guardians dared to get within ten miles of the place, especially not when the day was only two days away.

"Of course. What better time and place to summon an inhabitant of the Dark than Halloween? Magic is stronger in Halloween on Halloween. Naturally the ritual will take place then and there." The mage stopped walking and for a second, Sora thought that Riku was going to reprimand him, or tell him that it would be better if he went home, but then Riku said, "Get out your blade."

"Wha-?" For a moment Sora was lost, but then he saw what Riku saw, felt what Riku felt. Heartless. They weren't just shadows either. They were still all lower level Heartless, but there were a number of them, and that could be dangerous. "Right."

Where Sora drew his blade, Riku only gripped the hilt of his own sword, taking slow steps away from the creatures of the Dark. Sora didn't understand. These were weak Heartless. Why was Riku backing away? Could he possibly be scared? Sora stared hard at his friend's profile and the hard lines of his face. The look on his face read anything but fear, yet that made it only more confusing. Why back away? For a brief second Sora was allowed to wonder, and then the Heartless attacked.

Fighting Heartless like these was simple, even for an apprentice guardian. It only took a strike or two to bring down any one of the foes he faced, and Sora was quick both on his feet and with his keyblade. As each one succumbed to their "wounds" the shadow part of the melted away and the symbol of a heart rose from the creatures, all of them except the shadows, for some reason shadows only dissipated.

When the very last one of them was gone, Sora looked back to Riku, who had relaxed a little, though his hand was still firmly on the hilt of the sword he wore at his hip. "Why wouldn't you help?" He wasn't angry, it wasn't as though it had been a hard battle, but it was a little frustrating. Any time he dared to "feel" for Riku's energy he could feel how powerful he was, yet he had backed off from something so...small. He just wanted to understand.

They began to walk again, Riku a little bit ahead of Sora, but Sora kept staring at Riku's back as he waited for the answer to his question. He knew Riku would give him some sort of an answer, but Riku was thinking of how to explain. Riku did that a lot now; he thought about his words. He wasn't like the child Sora had grown up with, always saying what came to mind. Sora had been like that too, still was. It really felt like it was only Riku that had changed.

"Tell me, Sora: What does Squall tell you Heartless are?"

"Heartless are the opposite of heartless." How many times had his master said that? Dozens among dozens. Even Sora could not have helped but memorize that statement. "Which means...they're hearts. People's souls or...spirits." Supposedly if you succumbed to a Heartless, your heart was taken from your body and it became another Heartless. Misery loves company, or something like that. If that were true, then where had the very first Heartless come from? Sora had asked more than once, but Squall never had an answer.

"That's right. And what happens when your keyblade defeats a Heartless?"

"The heart is released. It goes back to its body." If there was a body to return to. Sometimes souls were away too long, but then the heart simply went to the Light. Sora was okay with that, even if he liked to think they returned to their body more often than not.

"What happens when a weapon like Squall's defeats a Heartless?"

"It goes away for a while, but then it will come back as a Heartless again, sometimes stronger, or weaker. But that's okay. They're of the Dark, but they won't go there, so it's okay for you to-"

"My blade has a name."

Sora stopped short for a moment. It did? Riku's sword was special? "That's great!" But what did it have to do with the conversation?

"Its name is Soul Eater."

Sora's heart jumped up to his throat. Riku didn't have to say anything more than that. Sora was very glad that Riku still had enough Light in his heart to not let his sword "eat" the souls of Heartless.

For a little while, even Sora had had his fill of questions, and they walked in silence. Sora had always found silence to be awkward, and for a little while it had been even more awkward than usual, with the stink of the previous conversation still lingering in the air. The more they walked though, the less awkward it somehow became, until they were finally walking side by side again, and Sora found himself watching Riku with a big grin on his face.

"What's with you?" Riku asked soon after, unable to stop himself from grinning too.

"Does there have to be something up?"

"With you? Of course." The silver haired boy shook his head and sighed, but he was still smiling as his aqua eyes looked up at the sky. "We'll stop and make camp in an hour. Then you can grin like an idiot all you want. Okay?"

"Sounds good to me!" Sora brought his arms up to rest behind his head lazily. He couldn't argue with that. It would probably be getting dark soon, and, in Sora's opinion, night ought to be for sleeping.

True to his word, about an hour had passed and as the sun began to set they settled in for camping. Riku built a fire with much greater ease than Sora could ever hope to, and they ate rabbits that Riku had caught and killed himself, an action that both bothered and did not bother Sora. Killing was bad, in all its forms, but guardians weren't vegetarians. Meat came from somewhere, so why should it be an act of the Dark to get the food you needed to survive?

The rabbits had almost been completely devoured before a new question finally made Sora curious enough to ask it. It was such an obvious question, yet he hesitated to ask it. It was a rude question to ask, even among things that had few niceties like mages and witches. Yet the question burned at his mind until Sora couldn't hold it back any longer. "Riku?"

"Yes?"

"What type of mage are you?" It was like asking how powerful you were, a question that no one who practiced magic wanted to answer. Riku had already stated that he had that innate mage desire for power. No mage or witch wanted to answer that they were weak, and no mage wanted to say they were powerful either, because power could be stolen by a weaker magic worker, if they desired it enough. Only witches like Maleficent were powerful enough to proudly display what they were.

Sora had expected Riku to be at least a little bit angry with him, but instead of anger, only surprise showed itself on his face, and even that was only for a moment. Sora supposed Riku should know by now; he was always too bold by half. "Well. I think I will let you answer that yourself. What type of mage am I, Sora?"

So this was how Riku was going to handle it, making Sora guess. The boy bit his lip a little as he thought about it. "You're...not a blood mage."

"Why aren't I?" There were usually tells to what kind of a witch or mage you were, oftentimes it wasn't really necessary to ask. That probably made asking even more rude, though Sora didn't know for sure.

"Your...teeth," he answered awkwardly, gesturing toward his own mouth. Blood mages got their power from drinking another person's blood, and supposedly even more power if they could eat their heart. They could use knives or pics to get at the blood, but most often they filed their teeth to points at a young age. Blood mages were the weakest kind, but, because of their teeth, also the most horrifying to see in person. Riku wasn't at all unpleasant to look at, not in his face, and not in his perfectly even teeth.

"Right. So what am I?"

"You're not a familiar mage..."

"Because?"

"Because you don't have a familiar." That one was obvious. A familiar mage's familiar was never away from the mage for more than a couple hours. In the day or more he'd been around Riku the only animals he'd seen were the two rabbits he'd killed. A mage would never kill his own familiar, it was counterproductive.

"What does that leave you?"

"Bone mage, but-"

"But?" A smile was working itself around Riku's lips, and somehow Sora got the feeling his own question had become a trick. He was being punished for his rudeness, he was sure of it.

"But I don't think you're that either." Bone mages killed people, like blood mages, but they took their thumb bones, boiled them, and then kept them, usually in a necklace or bracelet. Riku wore no such jewelry. It was possible that Riku kept his victims thumb bones in a pouch, or in his pocket, they made them hard to reach in battle, hard to draw power from. That aside, Riku felt more powerful than a typical bone mage was supposed to feel.

"So, if I'm not any of those, what am I, Sora?"

Now Sora was starting to worry. "I don't know." Those were the only kinds of mages he'd ever read about, had ever dealt with. As far as he knew it was the same for Squall. "What are you, Riku?"

The smile that had made its way onto Riku's face softened, and he chuckled a little, running his fingers through his hair. "My mother came from another region, where there are other kinds of mages. It has a different name there, but here I guess it would called a spirit mage."

Sora's eyes widened. That was intriguing. He'd never heard or read about that. It would be something to tell Squall about when he got home, something to write in one of Squall's many books. "What do they do?" It didn't sound as dark or evil as a bone or blood mage, and sounded more powerful than even a familiar mage, so maybe this was a good thing. Maybe it matched up to what he felt.

"Generally, how it works is that I kill someone, I take their soul, and draw on its power. Souls are so much more powerful than bones or blood, and they usually last longer than familiars."

Sora took it back. That sounded even more awful than drinking blood or boiling bones. "What happens to the soul?"

"Eventually it fades away, it never goes to the Light, never goes to the Dark. It vanishes from existence."

Yeah. That sounded utterly evil. It turned Sora's stomach, made him screw up his face in disgust. "And you do this?"

"Why do you think I have Soul Eater? It makes the extraction easier. In theory anyway."

"In...theory?"

"I've never used it to kill. I could, but I don't. I want power, Sora. I don't want to kill to get it. The fact I did not face the Heartless today shows that, doesn't it? There would be no easier way for me to gain a great deal of souls to fuel me than to fight Heartless. None, but I chose a more difficult path."

The smile that had been on his friend's face was gone, his heart apparently heavier, but Sora's heart felt lighter now. He didn't kill for his power. It was such a relief. But... "If you're a spirit mage, and you need spirits, how do you cast your magic?"

Riku took in a deep breath. "Myself. A mage can use their own power. Young mages do it until they find their affinity. I just took it a step farther. You know your own spirit best, once you can access it, it's the purest power flow. What's even better is that, like the body, a spirit will heal if it still has its...house, so to speak."

"But what happens if you use too much?"

"Well, for one thing, I become a servant of the Dark, but that's true for any mage, you know that. Too much magic, too many devious decisions, and you become malevolent. But if I use too much magic at one time without rest, it would be like any other soul. My soul would disappear into nothing. I would die."

"But you would never go anywhere then, to the Light or the Dark." Sora didn't want that. Even if his friend was a servant of the Dark, he wanted his friend's soul to continue on. He wanted him to continue to exist in some form.

"I'm okay with that. I'm never going to the Light, Sora, and I would rather not exist at all than exist in the Dark after I die." Riku lifted his gaze to the moon overhead, the color in his eyes somehow growing brighter. "Does this answer all your questions?"

Sora nodded. It answered all his questions, but it left a bad taste in his mouth. He was happy that Riku had found a path that didn't mean taking lives, but Sora would have been happier if Riku had turned out to be a familiar mage. Riku wasn't just slowly descending into the Dark, he was slowly taking his own life. Riku might be okay with it, but Sora was not.

He had to get Riku to stop using magic.


	6. An Acquired Taste

Author's Notes: This was a chapter I particularly enjoyed writing, and the scene the chapter gets its title from was a scene that had been very strong in my head since I first started thinking about it.

Think of this as the calm before the storm.

Enjoy.

* * *

Sora's heart was still heavy from their conversation the night before, and with each step they took toward Halloween, it seemed to get a little heavier. Not only were they going to a place that guardians were never supposed to go, but Sora was sure that Riku would use magic in their upcoming battle with...whatever it was they were trying to keep in the Dark. He might even use a lot of magic, maybe Riku was desperate enough to keep this thing out of this world that he would use enough magic to dissipate his own soul. Maybe tomorrow would be Riku's last day alive.

The thought of losing Riku tore at his heart. He had spent five years wondering how Riku was, and only three days ago he had met his friend again. No matter what he was, a spirit mage, or a servant of the Dark, Riku was his best friend. He couldn't bear to lose him again, not now, not ever.

Thoughts ran through his head constantly, and for once, he was quiet without having to work at it. How could he get Riku to stop using magic? At a glance it seemed impossible. Mages and witches were driven by a desire for power. They wanted to be able to control things, and have no one argue with their ideas or actions. That was why some witches, like Maleficent, tried to take over kingdoms, sections, and sometimes even regions; they wanted that power.

Riku had said that he too wanted power, though he had no desire for sections. Just personal power then. That was a start, right? Maybe he could talk Riku off that ledge too. There were other kinds of power. Maybe it was possible to get Riku to give up magic, if he could show Riku a kind of power that he maybe wanted more. He had a sword, maybe he had an interest in physical power too? It was a start...

"Do you see that?"

Sora lifted his head to look in front of them, he had been so caught up in his thoughts that he had not noticed the silhouette of a town that was now visible on the horizon. "Is that Halloween?"

Riku nodded. "It is. Gather your courage, Sora," the mage smirked, "This is about as close as any guardian ever gets."

At first, Sora tensed, thinking that if they got any closer they would be attacked by servants of the Dark, but Riku's words turned out to be nothing but a tease. They got closer and closer, but nothing came to hurt them, in fact, they didn't pass anyone at all. When the town was so close that he could make out some details on the outer buildings Sora's curiosity finally took over his heavy heart and he turned to Riku. "What should I expect?"

"What do you think you should expect?"

"Heartless. Witches. Mages. Various other creatures of the Dark."

"And, except for Heartless, those are all things you should expect. Halloween is made up of nothing but creatures of the Dark, but Sora," Riku looked at him with a fiery seriousness in his eyes, and Sora could not help but watch his face very closely. Every movement of eye or lip seemed important. "What you should not expect is violence. I don't want to even see your fingers flinch toward that keyblade. Not an inch."

What would Riku do if he did? For a moment he stared at his friend, unsure of what to say, but then the mage's face softened a little, and he even gave a small smile. "What I meant is that you don't have to be afraid of these people, and I don't want them to fear you either. Come on." Riku jerked his head a little as he took up walking again.

Sora trotted after him, and soon enough they were passing buildings that lay on the outskirts of Halloween. Sora thought they looked weird, all twisted and tangled, like the branches of old trees. It seemed like a miracle that they stayed upright, and that miracle gave the entire scenery around them a creepy feeling, yet Sora did not feel like he was in danger.

The first people he saw were children. They laughed and weaved their way around gates and trees. They did not look normal, one of them was spindly looking, and the other the exact opposite, but they did not seem bothered by their apparent abnormalities, they were happy, just like he, Riku, and Kairi had been as children, and, despite his teachings, Sora found himself smiling.

"See?" Sora's head snapped over to look at his friend, who was smiling himself, though not at the children, but at Sora. "Not so bad, is it?" Sora shook his head, and they continued on, both of them in something of a better mood.

When they reached the center of town they found a fountain that did not spout water and was in dire need of repair. Unlike the town center in Destiny, this area was small and cramped, surrounded by the same sort of leaning houses that seemed to defy logic. Here, each house was surrounded by a wrought iron fence that was just as mangled as the houses and fountain...even the lawns gave off a creepy and closed off feeling, but Sora couldn't feel upset. He could still hear the children playing behind them, and there were a few people in the town square, witches, what looked like a werewolf, and other such creatures, but none of them seemed threatening. In fact, Riku himself seemed like the most threatening thing around him.

"Hello, Riku," Sora took his eyes off a threesome of witches to see a woman approaching him. Seeing her made him think of the quilts his mother had made when he was a child. The word patchwork described her perfectly, no part of her seemed to match another, but the woman approached them with a smile on her face that, despite her mismatched parts, made her...pretty.

"Hello, Sally," his friend returned, giving the ragdoll-like woman a name. Sally. It somehow suited her.

"Are you here for more herbs?"

Sora looked at Riku. More herbs? Did Riku make potions too? He was a mage, it was natural to think that he could make them, but it didn't seem like Riku's style. Regardless, the mage shook his head at Sally, a soft smile on his face. "No, not this time. I have enough. I'm just here for Halloween."

At this statement Sally's face lit up like the sun, and she pressed her hands together tightly, "Oh really? That's wonderful! You won't be disappointed. Jack's got some really great things planned this year!"

Riku's smile grew a bit larger. "Jack always has marvelous things planned. I look forward to them." He paused for a second, "I brought a friend of mine this year. I hope that isn't an issue."

Sally turned her attention to Sora for the first time, but her smile didn't diminish, if anything, it only got wider, or, at least it seemed to. It could have just been the stitches on her face. "Are you...Sora?"

"Uh. Yeah. I'm Sora." Sora rubbed the back of his head nervously. She seemed nice, but he also knew she was a servant of the Dark. Was the nice just an act? Not only that, but how did she know who he was? He was still only an apprentice guardian, he didn't have acclaim. Was it Riku's doing? She did seem to know him.

"It's nice that Riku found you. He missed you." Sally didn't spare another word on the topic, and turned her attention back to Riku. "I'm glad you're here. Do you plan on staying?"

"No, just for tomorrow."

"Well, I'll bring you two some leftovers, you know Jack and I always have plenty."

"That's kind of you."

"Nonsense. I'm just happy you're here for Halloween. It's always better with more people." Sally turned her head, "I hope you enjoy it too, Sora. We really do love Halloween."

"It sounds like something to look forward to." Hearing her talk about it, even as vaguely as she was made him feel a small bubbling of excitement in his chest. He loved trying new things, and Halloween, being the holiday for the Dark, was definitely something he'd never celebrated before, but he knew they weren't really here for the festivities. They were here to prevent a summoning.

"Tell me what you think, okay? We've never had someone of the Light here before. If you have any ideas, I'm sure Jack will be excited to hear them." The ragdoll woman pressed her hands together in happiness again before she bid them goodbye, saying she'd be over to the house soon with something for them to have for dinner.

"The house?" Sora asked as Sally walked away and they began to walk around the non functioning fountain. "What house?"

"Before we lived in Destiny, my mother and I lived here. The house we lived in is still there, only it is mine now." Of course it would be Riku's house now, since his mother was no longer alive, but it did surprise Sora to hear that Riku had lived here, even if for only a few years when he was very small. The children laughed, and Sally had seemed genuinely kind, but every person he'd seen had not been normal looking in the least, which did fit in with some categories of the Dark, but Riku...aside from his unique silver hair was perfectly human looking. He was in fact a good looking young man, strong and fair of face, and his mother had been much the same in her own facial features, though her hair had been dark. Here, it seemed like they would have been the weird looking ones...

Maybe that was why they had left.

It turned out that Riku's house wasn't far from where Sally had stopped them. In fact, they had barely gotten out of the town square when Riku led Sora up a winding sidewalk to a house that was as crooked and rickety looking as the rest of town. Without a key, Riku opened the door and let them in.

It was dark inside, but Riku made a gesture with one hand, and muttered a word under his breath and instantly a fire roared up in a fireplace. Magic. Sora wrinkled his nose. He still had to get Riku to not use it, though, admittedly, that was the first time he'd actually seen him use it.

With the fire going, Riku made his way inside, and Sora followed. Everything was dusty, but there wasn't much for it to settle on in the first place. There seemed to be two rooms on the bottom floor, and from seeing the outside, it was probably a similar story upstairs. There was a table and a few chairs, a window, a cabinet, and little else. All the same, Riku told him to make himself comfortable, just as he swept his sleeve across the table, sending a giant cloud of dust into the air.

Sora had just sat himself down, and Riku had just opened the shutters on the window to let the early evening moonlight in when there was a knock at the door. Dutifully, Riku answered the door, and though Sora could not see who was on the other side, the soft voice told him that it was Sally, and that she had already arrived with her gift to them. In a gentle tone, Riku thanked her and then closed the door, returning to the table with a sturdy looking dutch oven. "That was really nice of her."

"Yes," Riku said in a offhanded way, sitting down in his own chair, the dutch oven in front of him. "Most people in Halloween are quite kind, and Sally is the kindest among them, in my opinion. Still, I can say with confidence that we will go to bed hungry before we eat what she's brought us." He let his fingers play with the lid of the container, as though contemplating whether or not to look inside.

"Why's that? Is she not a good cook?"

"Oh, by Halloween standards she's an excellent cook, but..." the mage paused, apparently coming to the decision to lift the lid, and quickly did so. Sora could not see inside, but whatever was inside made a squelching noise, and after a quick widening of his eyes, Riku slammed the lid back on the base and held it in place, his eyes quickly sliding away from their "dinner" to Sora. "It's an acquired taste."

There was a moment of silence between them, where the contents of the dutch oven complained in muffled tones, and the two of them just stared at each other, but slowly Sora couldn't stop himself from smiling, and then laughing, and soon, Riku relaxed his shoulders, smiled, and laughed with him. In that moment, Sora forgot all the things that were bothering him, where they were, Riku's predicament, the enemy they were going to face tomorrow. It was all gone. He was just with Riku, his friend, and they were laughing. All was well.

In the end, the mysterious dutch oven was placed near Riku's chair, away from the table, but close enough that if it started moving, Riku could slam his foot on top of it. They ate the remainder of the dried fruit that Riku had taken from Maleficent's castle, and a broth that Riku made from water, and dried spices that his friend dug out of the ancient kitchenette. It wasn't much, but it was savory, and a good balance to the sweet of the fruit.

"So what are you going to do with that?" Sora asked when the broth was gone, nodding his head to the container on the floor. They couldn't very well give it back to Sally full, could they? He didn't know everything about the way servants of the Dark worked, but he did know they had a certain amount of courtesy too, at least amongst themselves.

"I'm not sure," Riku prodded the object with his foot, causing it to make the horrific squelching noise once more. "It's not alive in the sense that I can release it into the wild, but it's not inanimate enough for me to not feel bad throwing it into the fire. It might scream. Or maybe it won't," he prodded it with his foot again. "It was meant to be eaten." Personally, Sora could not imagine ever eating anything that made noises when you looked at it. He just wasn't a part of that sort of a world, and it seemed that Riku wasn't either, at least, not to that extent.

After a moment, Riku sighed, shaking his head. "I think I'll just take it back to her. Tell her that you couldn't stomach something that made noise. She knows you're from the Light. Sally will understand."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. I'll go do that now. Why don't you head up to bed? Remember, we have a long day tomorrow."

They both stood up, Riku took the dutch oven and went out, and Sora made his way up the stairs. It was dark upstairs, just as it had been dark downstairs when the door had first been opened, but Sora groped with his fingers until he found a pair of shutters and opened them, letting the now brighter moonlight into the room. It was still dark, but light enough to see shapes by. The window had a window seat, and there was a bed in one corner. For a moment, Sora considered falling asleep in the window seat, but a yawn convinced him to lie down in the bed without any other thoughts on the matter, and he fell asleep nearly as soon as his head touched the pillow.

He awoke some time later and sat up, not knowing where he was at first. It was still dark, and even after sitting up it took him a couple moments to remember where he was. The smell of dust had filled his nostrils, but that didn't really bother him. He still felt tired and groggy. He'd been about to lay his head back down when he realized that in the window sat Riku, in very nearly the same position he'd sat when he'd woken up in Maleficent's castle. Riku wasn't asleep either, and that worried Sora. He hadn't slept much the night before, or the night before that, when they'd practically stayed up all night talking. Riku had told him that they had a long day tomorrow, so shouldn't he be asleep too?

Frowning, Sora staggered to his feet, and Riku turned his head to look at him, his aqua eyes bright in the moonlight. "What is it, Sora?"

"Come to bed," Sora said tugging at his friend's sleeve. If he couldn't sleep in the window seat, they'd sleep in the bed together. It wasn't a big deal to Sora, when they'd been children all three of them, him, Riku, and Kairi, had sometimes slept in bed together, but that had been years ago, and Riku had changed. Maybe he wouldn't accept that now...but no. Riku allowed Sora to lead him from his perch in the window to the bed, where they both lied themselves down.

"Go to sleep," Riku whispered to him, the mage's hand finding Sora's and intertwining their fingers, just as they had when they were children. Sora smiled a little at that. He liked finding the things that had not changed, especially when so many things had. "Go to sleep." Riku repeated.

"You too," Sora responded weakly, shoving their joined hands into Riku's side. He wasn't the only one that needed to be rested. A part of him wanted to stay up to make sure Riku did sleep, but before he knew it had had drifted back off into the land of dreams that he would never remember when he woke.

The next time his eyes fluttered open for a moment between such dreams, he looked beside him, and while Riku was still there, and his friend's eyes were still wide open.

It was then that Sora realized how very serious tomorrow really was.


	7. They Started Early

For all his worrying about Riku's sleep, it was Sora who woke up looking tired the next morning. Riku had been up before him, looking perfectly rested, and had even somehow managed to snag perfectly normal fruit and hot cereal for their breakfast. "So what's the plan?" He asked when Riku sat the hot cereal in front of him, with a sliced apple and a jar of very old ground cinnamon for him to take or leave.

"For now," the mage said, blowing on the first spoonful of his own bowl of cereal, "We're going to enjoy Halloween. The ritual can't start until the sun starts to set, and I don't want any lackeys reporting back to Oogie Boogie that I'm lurking near his dwelling." The spoonful went into Riku's mouth, and since it seemed to be edible, Sora took a bite next. It needed the cinnamon, but more importantly..."Who's Oogie Boogie?"

Riku paused, taking his time to swallow, but then answered. "He takes his name from the creature of 'boogeyman.' Which is another region's name for boggart."

"Oh," Sora nodded. "So he's a boggart. What kind?" There were several kinds of boggart, some more dangerous and powerful than others. In all his time with Squall, he had dealt with boggarts the most often. It felt kind of nice to be talking about something he actually knew.

"The creepy kind," Riku said with an unamused expression on his face.

"Uh, Riku? All boggarts are creepy."

"Then you've never met the kind that cook." Riku smiled a bit, but it quickly faded back into the serious expression, "I think he was originally a thrower, but he's gotten powerful enough that he's taken on a real personality. He likes throwing dice these days, rather than rocks or cherished family heirlooms." A gambling boggart. Now Sora had heard it all.

"He's not really the problem though. He's been defeated several times, his fatal flaw is now common knowledge, it's just that he has a nasty habit of coming back." The mage shrugged. "He's the one guy in town no one really likes, and he gets up to trouble every so often. The problem is what kind of trouble he and his friends are getting up to now."

"The summoning, right?"

"Yeah." His friend nodded. "Everything will be okay if we can stop it, but if we can't..." He strummed his fingers on the table. "I don't want to think about it."

"Then don't," Sora said with a firm nod. "Let's just stop it."

"Right." Riku nodded in agreement, took another bite of his porridge, and then got to his feet. "Did I show you Sally's gift?"

"Her gift?" Sora tilted his head. Riku certainly hadn't mentioned anything like that before, but then they hadn't talked much after he'd gone to return the dutch oven monster. "I don't think so."

"She said that she was sorry you couldn't handle Halloween style cooking, and to make it up to you, she gave me a costume." For a second, Riku disappeared into the kitchenette, but returned a moment later with a pile of clothing that he sat on the table in front of Sora. "They look like they'll fit you. I was surprised."

Sora lifted the clothes gently. They were mostly black with some white. Sora liked red the most, but black was okay, it was just a weird outfit, complete with a mask that looked like a pumpkin with a face cut in it. "What's it for?" A costume...

"For Halloween, of course. Don't you know what Halloween is about?"

"It's one of the days when the line between here and the Dark is thinnest."

Riku nodded, taking the mask from Sora's fingers and, with a slightly painful snap, placing it on the side of his head. "Yes, and the idea is for people to wear masks and costumes so frightening that the creatures from the Dark decide that here is much more scary than there! Ingenious, right?"

That didn't make any sense to Sora. "But if the idea is to make Dark creatures stay away, then isn't Halloween a...?"

"Holiday for the Light? It _was_." The mage donned a mischievous half smile. "And all the more reason for a little guardian like you to enjoy it. Go put it on." The rest of the costume was shoved into Sora's arms, and before he could even think to argue, Riku had him halfway up the stairs.

"H-hey! If I'm putting this on, you should get a costume too!" Riku wasn't scary looking. He was the very opposite of scary looking! Even with his choice of attire!

"Oh, you don't want me to try and be frightening." He heard Riku chortle as he made his way back downstairs. "Hurry up! I'm sure Sally is already looking to see if we're having fun."

Riku turned out to be right in more ways than one. The costume did fit in an almost uncanny way, there was no denying that, no matter how much the little bat wings bothered him every time he turned. He was also right that the moment they left Riku's small house Sora saw Sally peeking out from behind a wall on the other side of the street, only to dart behind it completely when he went to take a second look.

Where the streets had been mostly empty the night before, today they were full of people. Creatures of every shape and size were walking about in the daylight, even ones that Sora was almost positive were vampires, walking around with umbrellas high over their heads. Each and every one of them had a tune at their lips, humming or softly singing it, and for a while Sora was trying to catch the words off of the lips of passers by, until he realized that Riku was humming the tune as well. "What's that song?" he asked at last.

"It's the Halloween song," Riku answered simply with a laugh, before singing, "_~Boys and girls of every age, wouldn't you like to see something strange? Come with us and you will see, this our town of Halloween!~_" Sora smiled. The tune had a ghostly feel to it, yet it didn't feel like it came from the Dark. It was a airy song, and as Riku continued down the verses, Sora bobbed his head to and fro, and finally laughing when it came to an end.

"I like it," he declared.

"It is catchy, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Sora placed his hands easily behind his head, grinning. "But I think I like this entire town." They hadn't talked to anyone other than Sally yet, but it wasn't at all what he'd been taught to expect. When Sora thought of servants of the Dark, he thought of the night, he thought of blood and death, but he never thought of what he was seeing. His senses all told him that he was surrounded by the Dark, but the only danger he sensed was walking right beside him.

"It's because they're not evil."

"Hm?"

"The people of this town. They're not evil. Servants of the Light forget so easily...Dark does not mean evil. The people of this town...they were mostly born here, never knowing what the Light is, and not really knowing what the Dark is either, so they act as they want, creating their own sort of light, which I guess you could call fun."

"Dark, but not evil..." Sora frowned, "Like you."

Riku laughed, "No, Sora. Not at all like me." The slightly older boy placed his hand atop Sora's hair, ruffling it. "But you're too stupid to see that."

"Hey!"

"It's a compliment." The ruffling became harsher, but Sora could only smile at it. Teasing had always come naturally to Riku. "I like that you're too blind to see me as I am."

"I'm not blind about you!" He knew Riku was powerful and dangerous, his senses told him so! He knew Riku was aligned with the Dark, his senses told him that too. But he couldn't just trust his senses. There were things about Riku as he was now that troubled him, but his gut told him that Riku had never stopped being his friend, and that his friend had good intentions, no matter how he teetered on the edge of the Dark.

Riku withdrew his hand from Sora's hair at last, a grin commanding his face. "Oh, but Sora, you are."

Sora would have argued with his friend further, but when he opened his mouth only a gasp of both surprise and pain came out. A small foot had kicked his shin very hard. "Ow! Hey!" He whirled his head around to see three children standing behind them. They reeked of the Dark, but there was no danger at all from them, just the same as everyone else in town seemed to be. "That hurt!"

Beside him, Riku folded his arms over his chest. "What do you three want?"

"Trick or treat!"

Trick or treat? Sora didn't understand. Was that a question? Was he being given an option? "Uhh, treat?

At his answer the three children before him held out their bags, and Sora raised his eyebrows. What did they expect? He didn't have anything on him.

As the seconds passed, the masked children seemed to get more and more impatient, and just as the girl of the trio began to hop around, Riku shook his head. "Here." The mage reached down picking up three pebbles. He tossed them, caught them, and gripped them tightly in his hand. As Sora watched a darkness swirled around his fist and then, as soon as it had appeared, it dissipated, and Riku unfurled his fingers, revealing that instead of pebbles there were three crystal-like forms there. "Rock candy. Take it."

"Neat trick!"

"Without any words!"

"But we would expect no less from his son!" The three children held out their bags and one piece of rock candy was dropped into each bag.

"That's for both of us. Now leave us." Sora looked at Riku's face, and it was not happy. The joy at the simple song and conversation they'd been sharing was gone, left with an angry expression. What was it that had angered him? Had the children said something wrong? Was "trick or treat" not something they should have been bothered with? Or was it something else? The compliment to his magic? Surely not. It was a nod toward his power. Maybe...they had said 'his son.' But Sora didn't know anything about Riku's father, and he had always assumed Riku didn't either. Maybe that wasn't the case. Or perhaps even worse, it was, and they were taunting him with a carrot right in front of his nose.

Though Sora could not see their faces, he was sure that the three children were grinning as widely as they could as they giggled to one another and retreated. Sora watched them a bit of a frown on his face before he turned to look at his friend. "Did I give the wrong answer?"

"No," Riku's aqua eyes continued to watch the children. "Trick or treat is just as it sounds. Either you give them a treat, or they give you a trick. Normally I'd take the trick from them, but today we don't have time to deal with them. What's more..." Riku sighed. "They are Oogie's little goons. Besotted with him, for some reason for another. I'm sure he asked them to watch us. I don't want to give them reason to be closer to us than absolutely necessary. Saying trick would have invited them closer. I'm sure that's what they wanted." The mage took his eyes away from the children at last, and he continued down the sidewalk.

Sora had thought that Riku's mood had been ruined by the trick or treaters appearance, but he was wrong, and for the next several hours Riku showed him around town, buying small treats from stands that he thought Sora could stomach, and explaining everything as they came face to face with it. Sora loved it all. He couldn't understand how something so fun was of the Dark. Everything was so whimsical, and yes, a bit scary, especially when something jumped out suddenly, but Sora found that being scared was only part of the fun. All too soon he noticed that the sun was starting to lower into the west, and that Riku was gradually guiding him toward a less populated part of town. "Is this the way to Oogie Boogie's?"

"Yeah," Riku said with a nod. "But we need to be quiet." Sora was not very good at quiet, even when he wasn't thinking up ten questions per minute, but he took in a deep breath, held it, and followed his friend as he led him along the path toward the edge of town.

As they went along, the houses thinned out, and the eerie, this-is-not-a-good-place-to-wander feeling that had been absent from the rest of Halloween crept up on him. The rest of Halloween wouldn't hurt him, but this place would, Sora was sure of it.

They made their way along an increasingly narrow walkway, up a hill that seemed to hang out over nothing. Riku kept them to one side as much out of sight as he could, but when there was suddenly a huge boom from within the mansion they were creeping up on, and the three trick or treaters from earlier ran out screaming in high pitched voices, there was no hiding anymore, and with a nod toward each other, the pair of them began to run for the front door.

Just before Riku's fingers grasped the elaborate door handle there came another boom, and Sora felt a force so strong that it could have knocked them both over come from within, but it wasn't a physical thing. It was the sense...the danger, and Sora knew Riku felt it too. "We're too late," the silver haired mage stated with a look of horror on his face. "They started early."

Sora's mouth fell slack, "I thought you said they couldn't start before a certain time!"

"They can't! Not without..." Riku grit his teeth and wrenched the door open, the last unspoken word completely understood. Consequences. There were always consequences when you broke the rules, whether you belonged to the Light or the Dark. Rules were rules, they were meant to be bent, but not broken.

Sora followed his friend into the house, which at a glance seemed much smaller inside than it appeared to be outside, but Riku figured that puzzle out before Sora could even start to look for an answer. There was a lever to one side of the room, and when it was pulled, a trick door of sorts activated. Once it was opened, both he and Riku dived for it, throwing themselves down a hatch. They landed in a huge room that was dimly and creepily lighted. The decorations that made up the room were beyond the things that Sora knew, but he assumed that they tied in with Riku's statement of the house's owner liking to throw dice.

In the center of the room there was a huge circle that had obviously been both crudely and recently redone, the worst part of this circle was not that Sora could not recognize any of the symbols in it, but that it was glowing. It was magic, and it had been activated. Even worse was that nearby there were bones, even complete skeletons. They looked old, but Sora suspected that the people they had once been were dead only as long as the first or second boom they'd heard, and, as though to prove it, the bones eroded into dust before his eyes.

The sound the circle made were nothing awful, just loud, like a storm in his ear, but above the "winds" he heard a loud, guttural laugh, and it drew his attention upward. It was the most disgusting boggart Sora had ever seen.

Objectively, it wasn't really that bad, it looked like the biggest burlap sack in the history of creation, crudely sewn together, with eyes and a mouth, and that wasn't bad, but looking at it...there was just something about what he was looking at that sent shudders of disgust down his spine. There was something there, his senses told him. Something he wasn't seeing.

The burlap creature guffawed for several seconds more before it pointed one of its points, that Sora supposed was supposed to be a hand, down at Riku. "Riku, my boy! I thought you were enjoying the festivities! What are you doing here?"

For the first time since they'd met up, Sora saw Riku take what he knew had to be Riku's stance of attack, his hand wrapped tightly around the hilt of his sword, his entire figure wound up, clearly ready to strike at any moment, and it was looking at Riku that Sora realized his own hand had gone to Oathkeeper, ready to defend himself or his friend in an instant. It was the air. It was charged with energy. "You know very well what I'm doing here," his voice was soft, so soft that Sora wasn't sure the burlap sack could hear them. "What were you thinking? Starting early? It's dangerous, you know, to open portals at the incorrect times."

Despite the noise the opening portal was making, Riku's words were apparently heard by the boggart, and it grinned. "Dangerous?" Oogie Boogie laughed that creepy and obviously evil laugh. "Sure, it's a gamble, but the payoff is very nice."

"Payoff?! I'll show you payoff!" Riku drew his sword in one fluid motion, and then dashed forward. "Riku, no!" The words flew from Sora's mouth before he could stop them. He understood Riku's desire to cut it down, Sora didn't need to spend time here to know that this creature didn't deserve to stand on its burlap feet, but Riku's sword...Soul Eater. Using it's ability would be a huge step toward the Dark, the very place Sora didn't want Riku to go. "Wait!"

His words seemed to fall on deaf ears, and before he could even take three steps after his friend, Riku had leapt up onto the stage where the boggart stood, and another step later, had slashed his sword downward, and Sora came to a halt. The opening Riku's blade made told him exactly why this was the most disgusting boggart he'd seen.

Bugs.

Inside the sack was nothing but creeping, twisting, insects, and as soon as that fact sunk into Sora's brain, as Oogie Boogie screamed they came pouring out. As the bugs poured out onto the ground and into the air, the scream became more and more high pitched, until it was completely drowned out by the sound of wings buzzing and legs crawling.

Instinctively, Sora put a hand over his mouth and nose, and he was glad he did. The insects swarmed, many of them momentarily landing on him, their little feet prickling over his hands, their wings tickling and teasing his ears. It was disgusting, but they crawled and flew away as quickly as they had poured out of the sack suit, and Sora lowered his hand, making a noise that took all the disgust he felt along with it.

Up on the stage, Riku still stood, Soul Eater in hand, the burlap sack that had been Oogie Boogie empty on the ground. The mage took in a deep breath and then turned, stepping off the stage, and landing on his feet. "Riku..." He'd done it, he'd used his sword.

"Don't worry, Sora." Though he wasn't smiling, Sora didn't think that Riku's expression looked any darker than it had before. "Soul Eater can't eat a soul that doesn't exist."

Hearing that was a relief to Sora, but while it answered one question, it only brought up another question. Were all boggarts soulless? Or had Oogie just sold his away a long time ago? There were creatures that did that, sold their souls, hearts, spirits...but now was not the time to wondering such things. They had a bigger problem on their hands. "What do we do now? Can you close the portal?" Maybe Riku could. He'd never met anyone whose magic felt so strong, except for maybe Maleficent, but even then, Riku was younger, and Maleficent had hit her stride. Who knew what Riku could really do?

"No." Riku shook his head, turning his head to look at the portal that was starting to get louder again. "It can't be stopped now. All we can do is try to force him back through before the portal closes."

"Riku...who are we facing?" It didn't matter anymore, right? They were here, it was done, even if he could hear someone speak his name in the Dark, he was already coming. He needed to know what they were going to be fighting.

Riku furrowed his brow as though bracing himself for the name he was about to speak. "We are facing Ansem."


	8. Your Loyalty

Author's Notes: Ah yes, another chapter where I kill myself with a battle scene. I hope I'm at least improving somewhat.

This is the chapter where I sort of reveal that this idea is meant to be told in three parts. I only have part one ( and part two at this point ) planned out, but I only ever plan on writing part one.

I'm also sorry this took so long to update. I have several further chapters written, it's just a matter of getting them up when I want them up.

Enjoy.

* * *

"Ansem?!" Riku nodded. "We can't face him! It's impossible!" Ansem was one of the Three Aspects. They were something that Sora had read about early on in his apprenticeship. He'd never been the best student, especially not when it came to reading and books, but the Three Aspects had always stuck with him.

According to what he'd read, and what Squall had later told him, the Three Aspects had once been one person, a guardian, a holder of a keyblade even, but dealing with the Dark had led to more than just a professional interest in it, and, eventually, the man had given it up and became a seeker of the Dark, rather than a guardian of the Light. His searches brought him great power, and, again eventually, he had become so powerful that he became the king of the Dark...so powerful that one body could not contain him, so he'd become three, Ansem, Xemnas, and Xehanort, one being for the heart, body, and mind, respectively. Each and every one of his aspects were powerful, ruthless, and feared.

...And that was what they were facing?!

Sora's eyes kept going back and forth between Riku and the portal. The idea of him, at his age and level, facing something like Ansem scared him, but Riku was right. Anyone with even the smallest bit of Light in their heart could not benefit from even one of the Three Aspects being on this plane of existence. The havoc he would cause, the deaths that would follow... If they died here, but Ansem went back through the portal, it would be worth it. It was frightening, but it was the sort of thing every guardian was supposed to believe and follow.

The sounds coming from the portal became so loud that Sora felt like he couldn't hear himself think, but beside him he saw Riku grip his sword more tightly and take a stance of attack. Whatever was coming through that portal, Ansem or otherwise, was coming through it very soon.

Without warning, the sound stopped. Equally without warning Riku stepped in front of Sora and shouted the words, "Dark shield!" There was a boom, just like the ones they'd heard before entering the building, and for a moment, there was no light at all. The eerie light returned almost as quickly as it had disappeared, and Sora saw what Riku had done. It was a shield that looked like shingles on a roof. He could see the darkness that loomed in each one of those shingles, yet, oddly enough, Sora was sure he could see light shimmering in them too, a light that shouldn't be there, considering both the fact it was magic and the spell's name itself.

Riku stepped aside, and the shield he had produced faded away to reveal what was in front of them. It was a man, a man with skin darker than he'd ever seen before, a strong build, silver hair, eyes that looked like they were on fire. This was Ansem. Sora had thought that Riku was powerful, and that by comparison, Sora himself was a mouse, but if he were a mouse, and Riku were a cat, his senses said that the imposing figure before them was a lion. Even if they worked together, a mouse and a cat had no chance against a lion.

"Riku," Ansem said quietly, almost fondly, like he were greeting an old friend, but where he greeted his "friend" with open arms, Riku's stance only became more hostile. "I'm so happy. You came to greet me."

"Don't waste your words, Ansem," Riku's voice was a growl, and the sound of his friend's voice reminded him that no matter how small the chance was, he was here, and he couldn't just stand there mouth agape. He too, gripped his blade more tightly, and crouched into his fighting stance as the mage's next words left his lips. "You're going back through that hole you came through. We're not letting you go free."

Riku's tone had not left any room for argument, and yet Ansem laughed, "You're not letting me? You poor boy, you and your friend here have no choice."

"We'll see about that." Now. Riku didn't need to tell him; now was the time to attack. They didn't have any more time to waste. The portal would only stay open for so long, he knew that, and with what his senses told him, they'd need every single second.

Sora took off in one direction, and, as though their thoughts were connected, Riku took off in the other. It was Riku who got in close to their now mutual enemy first, a plume of fire seeming to burst forth from the tips of his fingers without so much as a word. The fire caught Ansem, Sora was sure of it, and he knew that in the cover the fire caused, he would attack with Soul Eater, and that it was probably his best chance of getting a strike of his own in.

He didn't think about it, he only remembered what Riku had told him back when he had battled Maleficent with Squall, aim, and then throw. That was what Sora did. It left his hands as easily as a bird took flight, and he watched it disappear into the smoke for that moment before all the smoke disappeared, but when he could see the full scene again, any hope he'd had the second before vanished. It was clear that his aim had been off, for he had hit neither Ansem or, thankfully, Riku. Like a boomerang, his keyblade was flying back toward him, and a second later slapped back into his hand as though he'd been throwing and catching Oathkeeper all his life. It was nice to be able to do that, but he wished that he had better aim.

What was even worse than his own miss was that Riku's flame had apparently done nothing to damage their foe, and in those seconds between flame, smoke, and clear, Riku had been forced back. Ansem still had the upper hand, and it didn't look like he was even trying.

His eyes met Riku's, and slightly, just slightly, Riku gestured his head toward Ansem. Sora understood. Attack at the same time. Two fronts. If they attacked in unison, there was more of a chance that at least one of them could land a hit, maybe force him back a step or two. He nodded, and Riku nodded back. In his head, he counted. Three, two, one...

They sprung forward. Riku aimed high, and Sora aimed low, but their attack was still for naught. With one simple movement, Ansem caught the sleeve of Sora's shirt, and, like tossing a pebble to one side, threw Sora back. Sora landed on his feet, unharmed, save for a scraped hand and a somewhat twisted shoulder. Ansem had been light on him. He was not so gentle with Riku. On Riku, he struck a barehanded blow against his face, and his friend staggered back a step, swinging his blade upward.

That swing connected with the arm that had hit him. It was just a glancing blow, hardly enough to cause even the most minimal of damage, but Sora knew that Ansem had not expected to even be injured that much by the likes of them.

Waves of darkness drifted off of Ansem so heavily that Sora could visibly see them. It was a spell that Ansem was activating, though Sora had no idea what it was. The Aspect took a step toward Riku, who had raised an arm in defense. Ansem was going to do something horrible to Riku, and Sora began to move forward, "No, Sora! Stay back!" Riku's shout was enough to make Sora hesitate for a moment, and that hesitation was enough for Ansem to grab Riku.

Riku gave a short, but awful, cry of pain, and then Ansem flung Riku into the stage wall with a strength that no living being should possess. There was a sickening sound as Riku's body collided with the wall, and Riku's body fell to the floor in a heap. He did not move. For one single moment, Ansem had taken Riku seriously, and this was the price.

"Riku." Sora's entire body shook. The only thoughts in his mind were of Riku and his condition. Was he okay? Obviously not. Was he even still alive?! No, he couldn't be dead. Riku wasn't allowed to die.

Ansem took a step toward Riku's still form, and Sora sprung into action, darting forward and placing himself between his enemy and his friend. It was true, if Ansem could do that to Riku, there was no way that Sora could stop him if he really wanted to get at Riku, but there was no way Sora would just stand there and let it happen. If Ansem wanted Riku, he would have to go through Sora.

The man stopped a couple paces in front of the apprentice guardian, eyebrows raised. "Move," his voice was soft, almost gentle even, but Sora was not fooled. This was a vast entity of the Dark, and there was no kindness in him.

"No," Sora said, gripping Oathkeeper so tightly in his hands that it actually hurt. "I won't."

At that, Ansem smiled, and for a moment, Sora thought he would attack, but instead he only spoke again. "Your loyalty to Riku is admirable, little guardian, but ask yourself this; Is your friend as loyal to you?"

"Of course he is!" There was no question about it. If Riku didn't value their friendship, he would have let Maleficent kill him, he would have left him in the miasma, he would have denied his request to accompany him, and he certainly would not have told him to stay back just as Ansem had thoroughly defeated him.

Ansem's smile widened into a grin. "I see. Allow me to burst your bubble. One word from me, and behind you, Riku would wake up. With that same word, your friend would drive his sword through your back and steal your soul."

Sora felt anger rise in his heart. He wasn't angered easily, but that was too far. "You're wrong! Riku won't obey you! He came here to fight you! He still has Light in his heart!"

The man tsked at him, a look of condescending pity on his face. "Do you think he came here to win a fight for the Light? He came here to try and keep his freedom. You think his heart is loyal to you, but the truth is; it belongs to me."

"I don't believe you. Riku isn't part of the Dark yet! You can't control a heart that still has Light!" It was said that Light always cast a shadow, but it was also true that Light drove away the Dark. Light was always a smaller force, a harder path to stay on, but it always won. It was strong. Sora believed that Riku was strong enough to keep Light in his heart, no matter how the Dark tempted him.

"It's true. Your friend has done his best to make the 'right' choices, to keep his spirit as 'pure' as could be expected of a mage of his power, but it is futile. Remember something...Sora, was it? Riku's blood belongs to me. I wasn't lying, one word, and he would be my puppet. I could do it now, and that would be the end of you, and soon after, the end of your precious Light, but not yet. I'll just let him realize how hopeless his cause is first."

Ansem turned away from them then, and Sora realized that, somehow, Ansem had been convinced to leave Riku be for now, and he felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest, but then Ansem began to walk toward the door, and Sora realized he was going to leave now. "Wait!" He couldn't let him leave! Riku would never forgive him if he just let him walk away!

"Don't be a fool. The portal is already closing. I could kill you now, but I have decided it will be more entertaining to let you live for now. Be grateful." With that said, a great gust of wind blew in out of nowhere, and, in a torrent of air and dust, Ansem disappeared.

They had lost. Ansem was out in the world.


	9. Has Been Completed

Author's Note: On the whole, this is a chapter that's needed, but not really...exciting. If that makes any sense. It picks up again next chapter.

The only real thing I have to say is that when I'm writing this story, I often listen to "_Shatter Me_" by Lindsey Stirling and Lzzy Hale. I really find it to be a perfect theme for Riku in this story. Just a note, if you're interested.

* * *

With the immediate danger gone, Sora fell to his knees, his entire body shaking. He had not realized how suppressing the Dark coming off of Ansem had really been. Thinking on it even a moment made him realize that he really shouldn't have been able to move, let alone land a hit. It wasn't him that had been important though, it was Riku that had driven him into action. Ansem was wrong. They were friends, and friends could overcome anything.

Behind him, he heard Riku take in a great, shuddering breath and for a second Sora felt like his heart had stopped. Riku was alive. He supposed that he should have realized that from the way that Ansem had spoken, but it was still a huge relief to hear him breathe.

Leaving Oathkeeper on the ground beside him, Sora turned to examine Riku's condition. He wasn't awake, and his eyes were still loosely shut. He was breathing, but save for the deep breath that had alerted Sora to him, it was shallow. The most concerning thing of all was the blood that had trickled down from the back of his head where he'd first hit the wall, down his face and onto the ground. A couple of times, Squall had gotten gashes on his face or head, and he had always told Sora that head wounds always bled a lot and looked worse than they actually were, but Sora wasn't so sure that was the case this time. He'd hit the wall headfirst, Riku could really be seriously hurt. He needed medical attention, but Sora couldn't carry him, and Sora didn't feel safe leaving his friend alone.

He placed his palm to the back of the mage's head, and when he drew it away his hand was red with blood. It was still oozing, but at least it wasn't full on bleeding anymore. Maybe Riku would wake up soon.

He waited for what felt like an hour until finally, Riku's breathing began to deepen again, and, with Sora holding the back of his head in his hands, the silver haired boy's eyes fluttered open. "...Sora?" Riku breathed his name out, and blinked very slowly, a soft sigh escaping his lips. "Thank the Light. I thought he'd kill you."

"Kill me? I thought he _had_ killed you!" Even now, Sora was worried that Riku would slip back into unconsciousness. His eyes kept on fluttering open and shut, as though he kept wanting to fall asleep. "And you're not in good condition. Your head..."

"Is it bad?"

"Looks bad. Your magic...can't you heal yourself?" After all, Riku had healed his burns after he'd faced Maleficent. That would be ideal, just to heal himself, and be able to walk away almost as though nothing had happened...but Riku shook his head.

"It hurts a lot, when someone cuts you off from a part of yourself. Before..." the mage closed his eyes, and for a moment Sora worried that his friend had slipped away again, but he licked his lips, and spoke again, "Before I met the wall he cut me off from my magic. I think it's temporary, but..." Weakly, Riku raised his hand and muttered a word softly, "Curaga." A faint green light swirled around his fingers, but it fizzled out like a candle that had been burned for too long. Sora watched it go, curious about the light. He'd always been told that all magic was from the Dark, yet this was the second time he'd seen a light in magic, at least, Riku's magic, but that didn't change the fact that he knew such a weak spark did nothing for his friend's health.

"I'm sorry."

"It'll come back, it's just painful when it happens. It's like..." Aqua eyes opened again. "Losing a hand, I guess. I've never lost a hand, but that's..." his voice faltered, and Sora wondered if he was having trouble remembering how to speak, or what he was going to say.

Without warning, Riku stirred, lifting his hands slowly and trying to push himself to his feet. Sora sucked his teeth, making a hissing sound. The pain and strain of moving were obvious on his friend's face, and Sora felt like he could feel the pain himself. "You shouldn't move yet. Take your time."

"No." That one word was clearly spoken, and was said in a very final way. "I need to get up. Or I'll black out again. Can't do that. Might not wake up." Riku took in a deep breath and began to struggle to his feet again. Sora took his elbow in his hands, and Riku fell still, a look anger on his face, but Riku misunderstood.

"Let me help you."

Slowly, the mage sighed, and the nodded weakly. It was slow, but Riku eventually stood on his feet, and Sora pulled one of his arms over his shoulder. Then they began to walk. Their progress was just as slow, and while that normally wouldn't bother Sora, it was Riku's condition that made the slow going worrisome. Riku was still somewhat out of it. He knew what was going on, but his words were somewhat slurred, and every so often his eyes darted around as though he were unaware of what he was looking at. The wound on his head was a large part of it, Sora was sure, but a smaller part of him wondered if it wasn't partially the shock of being cut off from his magic too. When they'd been children, Sora had never known Riku to cry at a scraped knee or a cut on his arm, but when Ansem had grabbed him...the sound Riku had made had been short, but awful.

When they had finally made their way back to the edges of town it was dark, the moon finally getting high up in the sky. It looked like the Halloween festivities were over, for the streets were empty, save for one person that approached them just as the houses started to get thicker. "Hey there, is everything all right?"

"No!" Sora called out to the person. He could sense the Dark on them, but this was Halloween, and Riku himself had said that Oogie Boogie was the only truly mean resident of the town. Sora would trust in that. "Riku's been hur-" His voice trailed off a little as the man came into full view. He was a skeleton wearing a suit, plain and simple. Even with all he'd seen, Sora had never seen anything like that, and for a moment, his jaw fell slack, but then he shook his head, clearing it. He continued. "He's been hurt." Skeleton or not. Riku needed help, he would not let his shock get in the way of that.

"Oh my." The skeleton came even closer. "How?"

"Jack." Riku's voice mumbled softly, giving a name to the skeleton. Hadn't Sally mentioned a Jack? "It's a long story."

Jack nodded, long, spindly fingers reaching out to take Riku, and, reluctantly, Sora allowed him to. "What hurts?"

"My head mostly."

"We'll take you to Dr. Finkelstein then. He'll patch you right up!"

"Great." Jack didn't seem to notice, but Sora had the distinct impression that Riku was being sarcastic when he expressed enthusiasm about the "doctor." Sora followed them anyway, a sigh of relief passing between his lips. Riku was going to get medical attention. He would be okay.

Dr. Finkelstein turned out to be an even more odd looking creature than Jack. He apparently couldn't walk, for he rolled around in a wheelchair, and...scratched his brain. Sora wasn't sure how it was possible, but then, Halloween seemed to be full of the impossible. He agreed to sew up Riku's head wound with a grumble, and kept on saying something about giving Riku some logic while he was at it, to which Riku only kept saying, "Just the cut, please." For that, Sora couldn't blame his friend. He didn't know much, but he got the impression that if given an inch, Dr. Finkelstein would do all sorts of things that Riku would not like.

"He's lost a bit of blood," the doctor grumbled when the stitches had been put in place. "He needs to eat something, drink something, and then go to bed, if he knows what's good for him! Which he obviously does not..." With that, he turned his wheelchair around and rolled off, grumbling even more to himself, without so much as a good night.

As the doctor fled, Jack shook his head, smiling, in a way that somehow worked, despite being all bones. "How do you feel now, Riku?"

"Lightheaded."

"That's all right. You and your friend can stay with me and Sally tonight. Halloween spirit and all that!"

"Yeah..." Lightly, Riku rubbed his neck. "Thanks."

So it was that at the end of the evening, they were at Jack and Sally's place. It seemed to be the biggest place in all of Halloween, with a different room everywhere Sora turned. A couple of times Sora thought he heard a dog bark, but there was nothing, only Jack and Sally. Sally was overwhelmed by the sight of Riku, and almost immediately some sort of brew was heated, and then all but forced down his friend's throat. After drinking whatever had been given to him, Riku seemed a bit better, but aside from leftover sweets, there was nothing in the house for either of them to truly eat, and after a short amount of time, Riku asked if he could bathe, and Jack escorted the injured boy upstairs.

With Riku out of sight, Sora didn't know what to do with himself. The house was huge, and normally that would have led him to explore every single room, but he couldn't find the motivation to do so. He was worried about his friend, even now that he was pretty sure Riku would be okay, and then there was the elephant in the room; a major force of the Dark was out in the world, possibly wreaking havoc even as he sat in a chair, safe and sound. How many people would die because they arrived too late? How many people would suffer because they had failed to drive Ansem back?

What was going to happen to the world now? Would Ansem bring back the other two Aspects? Would even more chaos be brought into the world?

Sora found himself wandering around, up and down halls, but he couldn't remember what was in them, or if he'd walked them before. Surely everything would be okay. It had to be. The world had to go on, and there were plenty of guardians in other regions, and surely there were other people who were like Riku, aligned with the Dark, but against the Three Aspects. Yeah. Everything would be okay, they just had to act...

"Sora."

"Huh?" Sora lifted his head to see Riku. He looked better now, pale, too pale, but the blood was gone from his face and hair. He just looked tired. "What is it?"

"It's not like you to brood."

Sora smiled a little. His speech sounded a bit better too. Whatever Sally had given him was really working. "Yeah. Sorry. I'm just..." he sighed. "Ansem got away."

"I know." Riku's hand was on a doorknob, and as he paused, his grip on it tightened. "We couldn't have stopped him."

"What's going to happen now?"

"We're going to wait here until my magic returns. Then I'm taking you back to Squall."

What? No. That couldn't be right. "But, Riku, I promised to help you!" He couldn't go home now! He knew Riku would go after Ansem. He couldn't let him go alone!

"And you have. I may have been unconscious, but I know you got between Ansem and me. You got him to leave me be. I'm still here because you helped me. Our deal has been completed." The mage sighed, his eyes sliding down to look at the floor for a moment before he brought them back up to Sora's face. "I know you don't agree. It's just so like you, but that's what's best for you. We can talk more later, but...I'm very tired, and you must be too."

"Yeah..." Sora made a face and looked away from his friend as Riku turned the doorknob at last, and swung the door open. "Good night, Riku."

"Good night, Sora." The door was closed gently behind Riku, and Sora sighed. Maybe it was just because the memory of danger was still so close, but Sora didn't feel like letting Riku go was a good idea. Riku was certainly strong, but Ansem was stronger. He had to show Riku that he couldn't do it alone, but how long did he have?


	10. Twice was Too Much

_"Riku!"_

He was always running after his friend, arms outstretched, trying to catch him. If he didn't get to him in time, Sora knew he would never see him again. The thought alone was terrifying. Never to see Riku again. He'd lost him once, twice was simply too much.

_"Sora."_ His friend turned, a gentle smile on his face, and in an equally gentle motion he held out his hand. _"Come with me, Sora. Don't be afraid."_ Afraid. Sora wasn't afraid. To go with Riku was exactly what he wanted. That was what he was running for, but time was running out. If they couldn't clasp hands soon they would be separated forever.

Sora remembered that he had done this before, run after Riku, desperately trying to get at him, but at the last second a wall jumped up between them. It was an invisible wall, one that allowed him to see his friend right in front of him, forever unable to reach him. It was invisible, but Sora knew what it was. It was the wall that separated those of the Light from those of the Dark. Riku was on one side, and Sora was on the other. That had happened before, and he couldn't let it happen again.

His legs screamed at him as he pushed himself forward even harder, until their fingers finally touched, and, smiling, Riku took his hand._ "I made it,"_ he told the older boy, bowing his head to try and catch his breath. _"I got to you in time."_

He heard a laugh, but it wasn't Riku's._ "In time? Silly boy, you will never make it in time."_

Sora looked up, just as a dark hand grabbed his friend's shoulder, and jerked him back. Sora clung to Riku's hand, trying to pry him back to his side, but it was a futile effort. Their hands were separated, and as Riku struggled, Ansem pulled him close. _"He's mine,"_ Ansem told him, placing a hand over Riku's heart as he continued to silently struggle against the hold. _"His blood belongs to me!"_

Sora's eyes opened, and he gave a small gasp. He was in bed, but he felt like he'd actually been running...and running, only to never catch up. Dream Ansem's final words continued to echo in his ears.

"A nightmare?"

Groggily, Sora shifted his eyes to the end of his bed, where Riku had perched himself with a book. No doubt it was one of Jack's. The living skeleton had an entire library full. "Yeah..."

Though he did not look at him, Riku's lips quirked into a sympathetic smile. "Don't pay it any mind. Now that Ansem is in the world, the Dark has more influence, even on those of the Light."

"But Ansem's the heart aspect. Nightmares are of the mind."

"True, but the presence of one strengthens them all. They _were _all one person, once." The book was shut with a snap, and Riku slid himself off the bed. HIs next words changed the topic completely. "My magic is back."

"Yeah?" Rubbing his eyes, Sora sat up. It was the second day since the events of Halloween. It had felt like it had been forever ago, yet it also felt like it hadn't been long enough. After a good night's sleep, Riku had seemed well enough, but he had still been pale and had occasionally stopped mid-sentence to look at something that Sora could not see. He'd wanted Riku to get better, but he had also not wanted to see him get worse, and it had been terrible to watch him go through that. "Are you going to heal yourself now?"

"No," his friend shook his head. "That would be rude. Sally has done all she can to help me. Healing myself would be like saying all her effort was for nothing. I'll finish healing on my own." Sora wasn't really sure he completely agreed, but he wouldn't argue. Riku could and would do what he wanted. "I wanted to tell you right away though."

"Because we're leaving now?"

Riku nodded. "I'm sure Squall is plenty worried about his apprentice by now. Maybe he even cares enough to go looking for you. It's best to get you home. Besides," the young man shrugged, "We've intruded upon our hosts too long. Let's go say goodbye."

Goodbye did not take long, but Sora found himself smiling, and feeling like it wasn't really goodbye. Sally's stitched smile and Jack's own toothy one portrayed that they expected to see them both again before too long. Guardians were supposed to avoid this place like the plague, but Sora found himself thinking that coming here again seemed like a nice idea. The people were accepting of everyone, which was something Sora thought was important. Not enough people did.

With fond farewells out of the way, he and Riku made their way out of town. The air felt heavier the more they walked, and soon Sora realized it was the Dark he felt. Its rise in power. Every shadow seemed darker, the sky more clouded, the trees more bare. Worst of all was the silence, it seemed denser, and, as it always did, the silence drove Sora to ask a question. "How long will it take us to get to Hollow Bastion from here?"

The answer was immediate. "Two or three days, if we move at a reasonable pace. Traverse is between here and there, so we'll stop there for food and water when we arrive."

Sora nodded. He had been to Traverse a time or two with Squall for missions. Traverse was one of the few Sections of their Region where Light and Dark both resided without conflict. A place where they didn't bother each other and came to meet in the middle, and that made sense, considering it was halfway between Hallow Bastion, a place of Light, and Halloween, a place of Dark. Even so, a guardian was often called in to take care of disputes. Servants of the Dark always rose up eventually. He was sure there would be more problems in Traverse with the strength of the Dark on the rise.

For all the pressure the Dark placed on him, the first day of their travel was uneventful, and they reached Traverse by nightfall. They ate, stocked up, and slept in an inn, all of which left Sora feeling truly rested and sated for the first time since he had set for Enchanted Dominion with Squall. Riku was up well before Sora, if he'd slept at all, but Riku had even let the apprentice guardian sleep in. Then they paid the innkeep, a scruffy looking man named Hanekoma, and made their way onward.

That was when trouble decided to strike.

Riku sensed it first, coming to a stop, and the moment his friend stopped walking, Sora sensed it too, a great amount of Dark pressing on him. "Heartless?"

"Maybe some, but I think it's mostly something far worse." That didn't give Sora much to go on. Heartless were to be pitied, freed, to hopefully have their hearts return to their bodies, but they weren't something awful to fight, unless you came across an especially strong one. Almost anything was worse.

What Riku meant came to light quite quickly. There were Heartless, a few lowly Shadows, drifting in and out of view, it was what they followed that was the threat. The figure staggered, but never quite fell over. Its gait reminded Sora of Riku, when his head injury had been at its worst. As it came closer, Sora realized it was a person, but there was something off about them, aside from the gait. Her, for it was a her, had matted, filthy hair, torn clothes, and what looked like open wounds. As she came even closer, Sora saw movement on her skin, and he felt bile come up in his throat when he realized they were maggots. "A...witch?" That was what the pressure suggested. It was that sort of a power.

"Worse," Riku's voice was soft, barely audible. "A dead witch." His friend took a defensive stance, and Sora knew why. He had never come across a dead witch, but Squall had told him horror stories from the few times his own master had come across one. For one reason or another, a dead witch came back if they were not properly taken care of, and what was worse was that they often had stronger powers. Their bodies, minds, and hearts all rotted, but they moved while they did it. What could be worse than that? No matter what kind of witch they had been in life, they had only one objective; drinking blood.

By now, the dead witch was close enough to them for Sora to see that before she had come back, the crows had gotten to her eyes, but her mouth was intact, and when she was about ten feet away from them, she opened it, and spoke in a grating voice that felt like it could make his ears bleed. "I smell a Light, and I smell a brother."

"You smell me," Riku hissed. "But I am no brother of yours."

The witch's head moved back and forth as though she could not tell where his voice was coming from. She licked her lips, and then said, "Then you are with the Light. I will put a stop to that!"

"I think not." The mage beside him crouched down, and then, like a rabbit, sprung at the woman, knocking her fully on her back. She struggled and trashed against Riku, her claw-like hands scratching at his face, her jaw opening and closing incessantly, filed teeth trying to find their way into Riku's skin. "Sora!" Riku called for him, but Sora was already moving, keyblade drawn.

"Move, Riku!" He swung his blade high, and at the last moment Riku rolled to one side, and, as he swung Oathkeeper down, the woman sat up, and the blade went in deep. She shrieked, but then fell back again and was silent.

Sora pulled his blade out of her chest with a sickening squelch, and he stepped back. "Is she dead now? For real?" That was something Squall had never really told him, or something he hadn't bothered to remember, how to kill something that was already dead. Did you just kill it again, or what?

"No," the silver haired boy moved forward again, kneeling down beside her, "but she will be. You should look away." Riku advised him to avert his eyes, but Sora didn't. He wanted to see. Riku didn't want him to know what he was going to do, what he might be becoming by doing what it took, but Sora wanted to know. Sora didn't want there to be secrets between them. Not a single one.

The mage pushed his sleeve up, reached down, his fingers ghosting over the wound that Oathkeeper had inflicted a moment before. Then, as though he had gathered his resolve, he plunged his hand into it, black blood bubbling up out of the wound and over his hand. The sight was disgusting, but the sound was worse. It was a mixture of rotting flesh and splintering bone, and it bothered Sora to the point of feeling more bile in the back of his throat. If he could trust Riku's own expressions, his friend was no better off.

After a few moments, Riku wrenched his hand back out, and Sora saw what he'd been looking for. The witch's heart was clenched tightly in his hand. "Fira." The word was mumbled, but it took effect, leaving no doubt that Riku's magic had returned. The heart in his hand burst into flame, and then drifted off into ashes. "Disgusting..." the mage shook his hand, and spatters of the witch's blood flung off onto the ground around them.

"Is that how you do it?" Sora asked, his arms limp at his sides. "You burn their heart?"

"Or eat it." Riku added with a shrug. "Blood witches especially like them, because they contain all the power." Sora knew that blood witches would eat hearts as well as drink blood, but was it true? Did the heart really hold all the power? "Sora."

Sora tore his eyes away from the now truly dead witch's corpse to gaze at his friend's face. "Yes?"

"When you kill me," Sora's heart dropped. There it was. He'd pushed it to the back of his mind, but here at last was the confirmation he'd feared. Maleficent had told Riku that Sora would kill him. He couldn't accept it, but he couldn't find the words to say it either. "Take my heart and destroy it. There could be nothing worse than for me to come back as...that."

"I can't do that." Sora looked toward the ground. That wasn't just some small favor that Riku was asking of him. He was asking him to burn, or even eat, the heart of his best friend. "I can't kill you twice."

"Sora. I know I'm asking a lot of you, it's a dark thing to do, but I'm asking you now, before we're not on the same side anymore. I'm not always one to blow my own horn, but I'm powerful. By the time I die I _am_ going to be a servant of the Dark. If I come back, that will be tenfold. I'll keep my mind and the memories in my heart for a while, but even then, I'll just kill. Seek vengeance on you. I can't stand the thought. Put my heart at ease, Sora. When you kill me; destroy my heart. Promise me, Sora." There was a short pause during which Sora felt like time stood still. "Please."

Sora bit his lip. The please told him how much this really meant to Riku, but Sora felt like he couldn't kill his friend, let alone burn or eat his heart. He also knew that Riku knew that once he made a promise, he would be bound to keep it. He could not break a promise, it just went against his very being. He sighed, he had to say something. "If..." he began. "If I'm there when you die," he could not, would not, say that he would kill his own best friend. He couldn't. "I will make sure you don't come back. I promise." It wasn't really very specific, but he stared at the mage, hoping that it would be enough.

Riku nodded, and Sora breathed a sigh of relief. It was enough. "Now."

The apprentice's heart fluttered. "Now?" There was more?

"Now would you take care of these?" His friend drew back his foot and kicked at a shadow Heartless that had dared to come too close. It rolled back over the dying grass of autumn before it melted away into the ground, only to pop up somewhere to his left a moment later. "They are beginning to be a nuisance."

Sora grinned a little, despite the dead witch, and despite their conversation. At least he knew about Heartless. "That I can do."


End file.
